A Brand New Gimmick
by MoreThanMyName
Summary: Stella Yamada finds herself stuck at the biggest party of the year... Unfortunately a certain Ray Beech is there too... And he's determined to win this argument.


_**I do not own Lemonade Mouth or any other sort of product name I've used. **_

_**First fanfiction, hope you guys like it.**_

It was a Friday night.

Her bandmates were convinced that no one should stay home on a Friday night, especially during one of the biggest parties of the year.

This was Stella's first year at Mesa, so she had no idea what she would miss out on if her friends hadn't dragged her here...almost literally.

The truth is though, that even if she had been going to Mesa as long as everyone else, she still probably wouldn't have wanted to go party it up on a Friday night, when she could be at home working on her latest guitar riff.

She shook her head as she remembered what she was doing just one hour ago.

She was sitting on the window seat in her room, strumming on her guitar. She had just made a breakthrough that could lead the band to victory at the next Rising Star. She was scribbling chords down vigorously, when she heard a hard knock and saw Mo's anxious face heading over to her. She was followed by Olivia.

They both looked great in their outfits, and told Stella to change.

"I am not changing. I am sitting right here tonight."

"Stella, you're coming. This is a big deal," Mo instructed.

"This is the only social event I go to all school year, Stell," Olivia added.

"And the only one I don't have to lie to my father about...too much..." Mo chimed in.

"So really, if you stay here, you're cheating yourself..."

"It's true..."

_And I thought Olivia avoided confrontation... _Stella thought angrily.

"Well let me cheat myself," she said bitterly.

"You have to come!" she heard Wen shout from downstairs.

"Yeah!" Charlie echoed.

"Butt out!" she yelled back.

"Are you going to change clothes and get your butt downstairs, or are we going to have to make you?" Mo threatened.

"Neither. I'm not going and that's that!"

"Grab her!" was the last thing Stella heard before being shoved into an almost all black ensemble that Mo picked out.

Mo would have picked something girlier, but was already terrified of Stella at this point.

Olivia handled hair and make up and, and Mo forced her into some heels.

Stella kicked them off, muttering something about stabbing someone with the heels and changed into some Vans skating shoes.

"Ready?" Mo asked, looking pridefully at how good Stella looked in the outfit she picked out.

"No."

"Well, you look fabulous so come on!" Mo said excitedly and grabbed one hand while Olivia grabbed the other and dragged her down the stairs.

"You all look great," Wen said, blushing when he met eyes with Olivia.

"Yes you do," Charlie added.

"Thanks guys," Mo said, while Olivia just smiled brightly and nodded.

"Oh shut up and let's go...The sooner we get there, the sooner I can leave," Stella said. Her bandmates just looked at each other smugly—that they had gotten Stella to go to the party at all was a huge accomplishment in itself.

The ride over there with a fuming Stella, making snarky comments, was an adventure all in it's own. But when they pulled up and actually made Stella go inside was when the spectacle began...

Once they pried her fingers off of the car door and pushed her inside, they shoved her through the crowd until they were confident she was far enough back not to notice the jocks and cheerleaders, or else she would up and leave right then.

"See, Stell?" Wen shouted over the music, "Not that bad right?"

"woop!" was the last thing Stella heard before he and Olivia danced away.

Mo had long made her way over to Scott by this point, and Charlie was across the room, flirting with some blond girl that Stella had never met.

_And why did they force me to come?_

She rolled her eyes before grabbing a can of soda off of the refreshments table, and making her way toward the corner of the room.

"You know, sitting in the corner isn't a good idea. There's nowhere to run," Stella jumped at the voice in her ear and snapped around.

"I didn't scare you, did I?" Ray asked, mockingly.

She chuckled sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"Back off, Beech."

"Did someone forget their Midol? Or are you just shocked to actually be at a social outing?"

_.._

She bit back every foul word she wanted to yell at him, and instead just smirked, "Why? Glad to see me here?"

"Not as glad as you are to see me," he replied.

"Yeah being manhandled into coming to some stupid party and seeing the biggest jack-ass in jack-ass history...Glad is definitely the word to describe it."

"aah," he said, "So that's why you're here? Mo-hoo-nee played dress up doll with you and wanted to take her Barbie out on the town?"

"First off, her name is Mo-HEE-ni. Second, that's probably half way true. Third...Gah, Beech. Just call her Mo like everyone else," she replied.

"You could've taken her down if you wanted to, you know that, Yamada? You're here by your own choice," he said.

No one called Stella Yamada a liar. .

"If I was in any sort of mood to deal with you right now, I'd might just tell you what a jerk you are. But jerk doesn't even cover half of it, and I'm, clearly, just not in the mood. So go lap up Jules and Patty, I'm sure they'd appreciate the attention a lot more than I do," that being said, she turned on her heel and stormed right into the heart of the party.

She normally wouldn't mind this sort of scene. But being that this was at the soccer coach's son's house, she felt like she was trapped in stuck up jock mania. Especially since it wasn't even her idea to come.

She remembered how much fun the parties were back in Rhode Island and half smiled. She really missed that place sometimes. But she wouldn't trade her band Lemonade Mouth for the world.

"Stell, come and dance with us!" Mo yelled, pulling her over to where she and Olivia had been dancing.

As one of her favorite songs blasted through the speakers, she could feel herself starting to get less tense as she started jumping and dancing with Olivia and Mo to the fast beat.

This is the most any of them had seen Olivia out of her shell since they'd known her, even Wen. She was dancing and laughing just like she was the most confident person in the world.

They were all three lost in the moment, just having fun, until it happened...

Olivia put her left arm in the air and ran straight into Patty, causing Patty to pour the entire contents of her cup all over herself.

Everyone surrounding took several steps back, with horror written on their faces...With the few exceptions that were either looking on is amusement or sympathetically looking at Olivia.

"What did you do?" Patty screeched.

"I'm...sorry, Patty," Olivia said quietly.

"If sorry was enough, then why are there laws and policemen?" Patty almost screamed.

"I'll replace your outfit if the stain doesn't come out," Olivia reasoned.

"Do you have more money than me? Besides, even if you were richer than me, this is the only shirt like this in the world! It was designed in Paris and is the only one of it's exact kind! So how do you plan to replace it _immediately_?"

"I—I..."

"'I—I'" Ray imitated, "Shouldn't Lemonade Mouth's front man have something more...revolutionary to say?"

Olivia looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"Is this any of your business, Beech?" Stella asked angrily.

"As much as it is yours, Yamada!"

"Do you think she wanted to bump into you, Patty?" she ignored Ray, "Do you think you're even worth this conversation right now?"

Wen went over and put his arm around Olivia's shoulder and pulled her away from the scene, before Ray and Stella _really _got into it.

"It's okay, Liv. You didn't do anything to her and everyone knows that. It wasn't your fault," he said comfortingly.

"Thanks, Wen," she said with a smile tugging at her lips.

He smiled back and put his arm back around her before walking back over to where Mo and Scott and Charlie were all standing, near the front of the crowd that had gathered.

"Seriously, Beech, we don't get enough of this at school?"

"I don't know _what _you're talking about, Yamada. The only thing keeping us from enjoying the party is you. Put two and two together, would you? Your first year here, and the first time there's ever been a disturbance..."

Luckily, the crowd had started breaking up, seeing as it was just a typical Stella/Ray argument.

"Don't even go there with me," she threatened.

"Why not?" he took a step closer, with a smirk on his lips.

"Because it's obvious that your little girlfriend caused this whole thing," she reminded him.

"Yamada Yamada Yamada... Never took you for the jealous type..."

"Are you...even kidding yourself right now?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

This argument could have ended right there. Just a sarcastic smirk at Ray, and walking away from him again.

But no...

The party at this point was back in full swing, and one of the many dancing bodies just so happened to bump right into Stella's back, causing her to stumble right into Ray.

He, being the athlete he was, caught her shoulders, before she could hit the ground, and just looked at her shocked eyes in amusement.

"See, Yamada? You can't keep your hands off me."

"In your dreams," she snorted, pushing his hands away.

Ray thought back to all of their previous argument's they'd had. They all started and ended the same way, with the same old things being said in between...

What if he could catch her off guard? If just this once...

He knew there would be consequences... Worth it?

He smirked.

"Hey," he whispered in a mischievous whisper, "who said I could keep mine off you?"

"Are you drunk?" was the first thought that popped into her mind, and the first thing out of her mouth.

"Of course not, Yamada. Is it that hard to believe someone could find you... irresistible?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yes. Especially you. Now will you kindly let me go?" she said.

"And if I don't?"

"Expect precious Brennigan to be very upset that his favorite student will be out of school for a while...dead."

"You couldn't kill me...You wouldn't want to..."

She hated the chills that ran up her spine that she desperately tried to fight.

"I could and would. Now...let me go, Raymond. Now."

"But...but what if I don't want to?" he turned her to face him, and she was literally so close she could feel his warm breath on her forehead.

"This is sexual harassment...I could report you," she threatened.

"But then you would have to lie in court and say that you didn't enjoy it," he snickered and pulled her yet closer.

"Get any closer to me and I swear..."

"Swear what?" he breathed into her lips.

Her breath caught in her throat.

He locked eyes with her for a moment and pushed one of her blond highlights out of her face.

He parted his lips and leaned in closer and Stella thought her heart would implode...

Before she could stop herself her eyes were closed and she was moving in toward his mouth as well.

She was an inch away from his lips, heart and mind both racing, when she felt his laughter against her skin.

He let her go.

"Point proven, Yamada. You want me," he stated.

"Beech," she growled, reaching up to punch him, "I am going to bury you ali—" she was cut off by his hand catching her arm and his lips catching hers abruptly.

This wasn't the kind of cliche kiss everyone dreams of... It was raw and it was real and it was passionate. She didn't taste like a random fruit, and there weren't any people brave enough to pull an "I told you so."

It didn't feel like the world stopped, it felt like it was moving faster. The two master minds of rival bands were tangled up in all of the emotions that they had made each other feel for so long...Whether positive or negative...

They pulled away panting.

"Burying me alive would be a little harsh," he chuckled.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," she smirked up at him.

He threw his arm over her shoulder and ignored all of the shocked glances they were receiving.

"Wait...So Stella likes Ray?" Charlie asked for the fifth time.

"It would appear so," Mo said, irritated.

"So...What does this mean?" Wen asked, "Do we like Ray now?"

"No," Olivia spoke up quietly. After all, she was the weaker natured of the group, and he targeted her easily.

"Well... what _does _it mean?" Charlie asked.

"It means that everyone at Mesa High should run and hide," Mo explained, "Because if they were intolerable before..."

Everyone cringed as images of Mesa High lying in ruins flashed through their minds.

"What are we supposed to do about this then?" Olivia asked.

"Sit back and let it play out. Either they'll break up and everything will be the same as always, or they'll stay together and eventually the good in Stella will rub off on him," Mo opted.

"What if the bad in Ray rubs off on Stella first?"

Mo laughed, "Stella? Really? You think anyone could rub off on someone that stubborn?"

"I still don't know about this," Olivia sighed.

"Olivia, it's okay," Wen assured her, "Stella is our friend. It's our job to have her back."

"I guess..."

"But wait..." Charlie said.

"What?" Mo asked, exasperated.

"...Stella _likes Ray?"_


End file.
